Includes updates and/or revisions
Despite a whopping 9 percent increase over last year in the number of students taking the ACT, scores on the college-entrance exam from the class of 2008 dipped only slightly.
Among this year鈥檚 1.42 million ACT test-takers, up from just over 1.3 million last year, the average composite score was 21.1 on a scale of 1 to 36鈥攁 decrease of one-tenth of a point from last year.
鈥淭his drop isn鈥檛 a surprise to us, given the expanded base of test-takers,鈥� Cynthia B. Schmeiser, the president and chief operating officer of the education division of the Iowa City, Iowa-based , the nonprofit test-maker that owns the ACT, said in a conference call with reporters Aug. 12. 鈥淕iven the change in the composition of the testing pool, we think this result is relatively encouraging.鈥�
The growth in the testing pool was fueled in part by Michigan鈥檚 move last year to join Colorado and Illinois in making the ACT part of its mandatory statewide assessment system for 11th graders. The result was a net gain of nearly 46,000 more ACT-takers in Michigan鈥檚 graduating class compared with last year.
鈥淭he annual gain of 121,000 test-takers ... is huge and unprecedented, even allowing for the mandatory administration of the test in Michigan,鈥� said Robert Schaeffer, a spokesman for the , a Cambridge, Mass.-based testing-watchdog group.
Catching Up With SAT?
Ms. Schmeiser attributed the growth not associated with Michigan to 鈥渙rganic鈥� participation increases in the Midwest and the South鈥攖he ACT鈥檚 traditional strongholds鈥攁nd also to growth on both coasts, which have traditionally been the home turf of the rival SAT.
Much of the growth can also be chalked up to the raw numbers of college-going young people. ACT test-takers represented 43 percent of all high school graduates nationally this year鈥攗p from 42 percent in 2007 and 40 percent in 2006.
The average score on the ACT college-entrance exam has risen from 20.9 to 21.1 on a 36-point scale since 2004, even as the racial and ethnic make-up of the ACT-taking graduating class has changed.
SOURCE: ACT Inc.
鈥淭he number of students moving through the college-admission process has increased steadily each year over the past decade, so it wouldn鈥檛 surprise me if there were a fundamental increase due to the demographic bulge,鈥� said David Hawkins, the director of public policy for the , an Alexandria, Va.-based group that represents more than 20,000 secondary school counselors and college-admissions officers.
The number of SAT-takers among this year鈥檚 graduating class won鈥檛 be known until Aug. 26, when the New York City-based is due to release its totals. But if the SAT鈥檚 slower rate of growth in recent years continues, Mr. Shaeffer said, using a rental-car-company comparison, 鈥淎vis has almost caught up with Hertz. The longtime number two is finally breathing down the neck of the longtime number one.鈥�
Among last year鈥檚 graduating class, 1.49 million students took SAT tests, excluding specific SAT subject-matter tests, roughly 70,000 more than the total number of ACT-taking members of the class of 2008.
The gap between participation in the two tests may narrow further next year, when Kentucky and Wyoming begin administering the ACT statewide as part of their assessment programs.
Wyoming students will have the option of taking the ACT or ACT鈥檚 exam of workforce skills. According to the College Board, the SAT is required statewide only in Maine, where it serves as the state鈥檚 main assessment of 11th graders.
Participation in the ACT has grown 21 percent in the past four years; the exam is taken by the majority of high school graduates in 26 states, according to the test company.
The ACT, unlike the SAT, bases its questions on the results of a periodic survey of the skills taught by high school teachers and the expectations of entry-level college courses. ACT-takers are graded on four mandatory sections of the exam鈥擡nglish, mathematics, reading, and science鈥攁nd on an optional writing section if students participate in it.
More Minority Test-Takers
In line with the previous five years, ACT scores for this graduating class shifted only incrementally across all racial and ethnic groups.
The stability of the scores is notable, given the large increases in the participation levels of African-Americans and Hispanics, who have historically scored lowest on the exam among the self-identified racial and ethnic groups. Among this year鈥檚 graduating class, the number of African-American ACT-takers increased 17 percent over last year, to about 178,000. The number of Hispanic ACT-takers in the class of 2008 jumped 23 percent, to about 115,000.
鈥淗istorically, as the diversity deepens, you expect scores to decline,鈥� said Mr. Shaeffer of the National Center for Fair & Open Testing.
While saying he was leery of making year-to-year comparisons of test scores that budge only fractionally, he noted: 鈥淚t鈥檚 a good sign that scores remain stable or went up slightly.鈥�
Mr. Hawkins, of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, seconded that opinion, but sounded a more cautious note.
鈥淥ne hopes that it鈥檚 a measure of college readiness鈥攖hat there are more students that are college-eligible that haven鈥檛 been applying that this test is reaching,鈥� he said.
Readiness Measures Flat
Scores were mostly flat on what ACT Inc. calls its college-readiness benchmarks: the minimum score needed on an ACT subject-area test to indicate a 75 percent chance of earning a C or higher grade on a corresponding for-credit college course.
The percentage of ACT-takers in the class of 2008 meeting college-readiness benchmarks stayed steady in math, reading, and science at 43 percent, 53 percent, and 28 percent, respectively.
Only in English, in which the proportion of test-takers meeting the benchmark dropped 1 percentage point, to 68 percent, was there a decrease. But that was enough to draw a pointed remark from U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings.
鈥淭his is unacceptable when 90 percent of the fastest-growing jobs require at least some postsecondary education,鈥� she said in a statement.
As in past years, ACT officials this year highlighted what they perceive as schools鈥� insufficient commitment to what the organization deems a core college-preparatory curriculum鈥攆our years of English and three years each of math, science, and social studies鈥攁nd as a lack of rigor in high school courses.
About three in 10 ACT-tested graduates reported taking less than that core curriculum in high school. And those who did were not necessarily high scorers on corresponding exams.
Among the 2008 graduates who took the minimum core curriculum in English, only 68 percent met the ACT鈥檚 college-readiness benchmark in English. Only 14 percent of the class of 2008 who took the minimum core coursework in math met the math benchmark.
鈥淲e鈥檙e still seeing a lot of evidence that the core courses they鈥檙e taking are not rigorous enough,鈥� said Ms. Schmeiser. 鈥淲e鈥檝e still got a lot of work to do.鈥�
